Air Conditioner problems of the 1998 Toyota Avalon

The entire heating and air conditioning system went off while I was driving. The system fan remained off no matter what settings I chose. After not running the car for a while, the system would work again, only then to shut itself off within a time period of seconds to as much as a whole day. I had the problem repaired by my local Toyota dealer, who charged me approximately $1500. Though the cost of repair was very high, I did not have a choice but to have it repaired, since I could not use the car in that unsafe and unsatisfactory condition. The dealer told me that Toyota limited any financial support to that repair to 36,000 miles or less. My car has 67,000 miles on it, so no support was given.